ALTURAS, Calif. — Community Wildfire Preparedness Week is now over, but that does not mean it is time to stop preparing for the inevitable. Folks living in fire-prone ecosystems know the work they put in ahead of time can reduce the impacts of damaging wildfire.

Salem, Ore. - Local fire agencies and prevention organizations urge the public to consider alternatives to burning yard debris, as unseasonably warm and dry conditions are already causing fires across the state.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As Oregon faces a rapidly approaching wildfire season, Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River) today introduced legislation to improve forest management and reduce the risk of catastrophic fires in the state. Walden, joined by a group of 18 lawmakers, authored the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2019, which would make significant reforms to forest management policy across Oregon’s federal lands.

Today, firefighters worked several prescribed fires in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. Including the West Drews prescribed fire in Lake County, and the Racoon prescribed fire in Klamath County. Ignitions on both prescribed fires took place late this morning.

The National Weather Service in Medford has upgraded the recently announced Fire Weather Watch to a Red Flag Warning for the Klamath Basin and the Fremont-Winema National Forest. The warning is in effect from 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM PDT Thursday, May 9, 2019.

The National Weather Service in Medford has issued a Fire Weather Watch for the Klamath Basin and Fremont-Winema National Fores, which is in effect Thursday afternoon. An unusually warm and dry pattern this afternoon and Wednesday will become even warmer and drier Thursday into the weekend.

The Fremont-Winema National Forest in coordination with the South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership (SCOFMP) will be conducting prescribed fire operations starting Friday May 3, 2019 as conditions allow in the Klamath Ranger District and Lakeview Ranger Districts.

Freighters made great progress on the Bray Mill Fire overnight on the Chiloquin Ranger District of the Fremont-Winema National Forest. The fire is currently 405 acres and 25 percent contained. Firefighters report that there is no forward momentum to the fire. Full containment is anticipated by tonight.

LAKEVIEW, Ore. – Spring weather has arrived in South Central Oregon, and fire managers on the Fremont-Winema National Forest, and Lakeview District Bureau of Land Management will be applying prescribed fire to the landscape.

Prescribed fire is used by fire managers to improve forest heath and wildlife habitat, and to reduce hazardous fuels to minimize the threat of high-intensity, severe wildfires in our area. Applying prescribed fire is a part of our continued commitment to protect communities and natural resources from wildfires.

SALEM, Ore. – Revised rules that protect air quality in areas of Oregon susceptible to smoke from controlled forest burns have gone into effect just as the spring burning season gets underway. The new rules were adopted in January by the Oregon Board of Forestry and approved by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, following a multi-year review process by a broad-based committee.

Medford, Ore. — Governor Kate Brown issued an executive order establishing the Oregon Wildfire Response Council and named Matt Donegan as Chair. The charge of the council is to evaluate Oregon's current system of response to large fires, and determine whether or not the current model is the best possible way to defend Oregon from the threat of wildfires. The council will issue a report in September 2019 to make recommendations for the future of Oregon's wildfire response infrastructure.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Representative Greg Walden today applauded H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (Farm Bill), but said that more work remains to improve forest management to prevent catastrophic wildfires in Oregon. Speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives, Walden said that while he intends to vote in support of the 2018 Farm Bill, he is disappointed that the legislation did not include the sweeping improvements to federal forest policy that he helped secure in the House-passed version of the bill.

Yesterday afternoon (12/5/18) a column of smoke could be seen over the top of Hogback Mountain near Klamath Falls. Today, the Oregon Department of Forestry confirmed that the smoke and glow of the fire is due to a controlled burn of large slash piles related to a logging operation on the east side of Hogback Mountain.

5 Miles northwest of Chiloquin, Oregon the Agency 2 Fire burned. The fire was first reported Wednesday afternoon at just 3.5 acres in the Chiloquin Ranger District. Fuels include dense lodgepole, snags, and heavy dead and downed material.

Klamath Falls, Ore. – The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Oregon/Washington office announced today the Lakeview Veterans Fire Crew has achieved certification as the Lakeview Veterans Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC). Of the 112 IHCs throughout the nation, Lakeview Veterans is the tenth BLM-funded hotshot crew, and the only one focused on recruiting and developing veterans.

Klamath Falls News

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